For anyone who was going to high school in the 80's, even the mere mention of Spy Hunter should bring back a flood of memories associated with those times. It was in the early 80's we saw the likes of Spy Hunter, the various iterations of Defender, Galaga and even the ground breaking Tron games based on the hit Disney movie. Spy Hunter was particularly memorable due to its simplistic yet addictive gameplay. Add to this a very catchy tune and gamers were in heaven for years. Here we are almost twenty years later, and Paradigm decided to take a great risk by modernizing Spy Hunter. Updating classic games has been the trend lately and unfortunately in many cases the crossover has not been all that great. However, Spy Hunter fans will be happy to hear that the modernization of this classic has not only been done well but may indeed be remembered twenty years from now.

While the visual outing here is nothing to get too excited over, it does possess enough texture variety and detail to warrant a next generation branding. The colours are bright when they need be and the lighting effects are great for all of the explosions that take place throughout the game. As with the original, this game is all about speed and precision. Thankfully the framerate is solid and never drops even when there are a lot of things happening at once. The development team has done a nice job of conveying a movie-look to the game. Early in the game when the G-6155 Interceptor transforms into a speed boat, you can not help but feel the tiny hairs on your arms and back of your neck stick up. Each of the 14 levels have their own unique feel whether you are in some countryside our tearing things up in Europe. Perhaps one of the best level designs comes in the form of a F1 race where you must participate in order to disarm a bomb. The CG cut scenes are also of high quality and fit nicely with the overall scheme of things. To add even more validity to the relentless action, Island Gold Recording act Saliva recorded two new versions of "The SpyHunter Theme". Based on the Peter Gunn theme song, a new lyrical version as well as an instrumental format have been included in the game. Believable sound effects round out a solid aural experience.

In terms of gameplay, much of the essence of the original has been retained. It remains fast and at times extremely challenging. Your super vehicle offers all of the original weapons from 1983 as well as a few new ones including the ability to morph into a speed boat and motorcycle. While the available weapons are satisfactory, it would have been more exciting to add a better variety of weapons to dispose your enemies. The meat of the game is found within the oneplayer experience which is structured into 14 time-limited missions. Each mission has primary and secondary objectives. In order to progress to the next level, players must at least meet the primary objectives. In later stages, it is necessary to also complete secondary objectives in order to gain enough points to open new levels. The majority of these stages are linear in nature. A number of short cuts or alternative routes can be found within each level, but they all lead to the same final clearing area. Despite the intensive pace, things eventually become quite repetitive. This becomes especially evident in later stages when secondary objectives begin to repeat themselves from earlier stages. My only complaint with the control is the way the lock on target feature was mapped to L3 on the Dual Shock 2. I found myself getting easily mixed up with the controls and this proved frustrating in situations in which quick decisions were necessary.

The two-player modes include: Spy Head To Head, in which the first to cross the finish line is the winner; Globetrotter, the victor will be the one who collects the most SATCOMS; and Chicken Hunter, an odd but hilarious mode where you must kill as many chickens as you can to earn the most points. Chicken Hunter is worth some play time but the other two-player modes feel as if they were thrown in as a good measure at the last moment.

Although there a few rough spots, Midway has done an admirable job in breathing new life into a classic title. The major components work reasonably well in order to deliver an exciting ride. Spy Hunter is definitely worth checking out during this busy season of gaming.